This invention relates to a nose support for eyeglasses having improved performance and comfort characteristics. The invention is applicable to prescription eyeglasses as well as nonprescription safety glasses or sunglasses.
Eyeglasses normally comprise two adjacent rims which support corresponding lenses, with the rims being interconnected by a bridge which is configured to rest on the bridge of the nose of the wearer.
In many eyeglasses the bridge is made of a rigid material which cannot, of course, accurately conform to the shape of the bridge of the nose of the wearer. As a result, pressure is concentrated at the regions of contact between the bridge of the nose of the wearer and the bridge of the eyeglasses, resulting in discomfort to the wearer and reducing the area of contact and thus the frictional force retaining the eyeglasses in place, so that there is an increased tendency for the eyeglasses to slip down the nose of the wearer.
One approach that has previously been taken to solving the pressure concentration problem has been to customize the bridge support portion of the eyeglasses to the shape of the nose of the particular wearer. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,341 to James B. Bradley, Jr. However, such an arrangement is cumbersome, expensive, and does not adequately address the problem of providing increased comfort to the wearer.
In other efforts to alleviate these problems, resilient contact pads of various kinds have been provided which support the eyeglasses on the bridge of the nose of the wearer. Such contact pads have been connected either to the bridge of the eyeglasses or directly or indirectly to the rims of the eyeglasses, with the intent that the resilient qualities of the pads would allow them to better conform to the shape of the nose of the wearer, so as to distribute the force required to support the eyeglasses and thus reduce pressure concentrations and resulting discomfort. Such resilient contact pad arrangements are described, for example, in the following Patents:
British Pat. No. 22,657 issued Apr. 29, 1898 to Thatcher; PA1 U.S. Pat No. 2,032,843 issued Mar. 3, 1936 to Grier; PA1 U.S. Pat No. 2,561,403 issued July 24, 1951 to Nelson; PA1 U.S. Pat No. 4,070,104 issued Jan. 24, 1978 to Rice; and PA1 U.S. Pat No. 4,243,306 issued Jan. 6, 1981 to Bononi.
Such resilient contact pads, however, also fail to provide an adequate level of wearer comfort; and the nature and shape of such pads tends to promote rather than reduce slippage on the nose of the wearer.
A support arrangement which enables adjustment of the position of the eyeglasses relative to the nose of the wearer, and which is intended for use with bifocals or trifocals, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,961 issued on Mar. 26, 1985 to Palmieri. In this arrangement what is essentially a movable bridge is provided by means of a strap 16 the ends of which are slidably secured to the eyeglass rims by means of clips 18, 19, 25. While the strap of Palmieri is obviously made of a flexible material, as is evident from the drawings of said patent, Palmieri does not identify the material involved.
In one embodiment of the Palmieri arrangement (which embodiment provides an adjustability feature), the central portion of the strap rests directly on the nose of the wearer. In another embodiment, two separate straps are employed merely as attachment devices for an interconnecting bridge 39 which rests on the nose of the wearer. Each strap is slidably movable on an adjacent rim of the eyeglasses. Both embodiments, however, provide an inadequate degree of wearer comfort and resistance to slippage.
The strap 24 of Palmieri provides a means of adjustment, but no added comfort, or elimination of slippage, or conformance to the shape of the nose of the wearer. In fact, in the arrangement of Palmieri there is actually a degradation from the normal suitability of the bearing surfaces to rest on the nose of the wearer. The Palmieri strap must necessarily be made of a hard, springy material to stay in the channels provided by the arrangement of Palmieri in the areas not immediately adjacent to the rim attaching clips; otherwise the strap would fall out of said areas.
The strap 24 of Palmieri also must necessarily be narrow to slidably fit into the slots 44 of the bridge so as to provide the desired adjustability, such narrowness providing a relatively small contact area with the nose of the wearer, with an accompanying excess concentration of pressure and resulting discomfort and objectionable slippage.
As is evident from FIG. 3 of Palmieri, the curvature of the nose contact portion of the strap is different for different positions of the strap, and in its lower positions the strap is nearly flat and the nose contact portion is minimal, so that the strap rests on only the top central surface of the nose of the wearer, a situation inconsistent with wearer comfort and proper slip-resistant functioning.
The Palmieri arrangement thus uses channels and clips on the rims of the eyeglasses to allow the central portion, which rests on the nose, to be raised or lowered. There is no suggestion of the use of a conformable highly compliant or pliable band or web to minimize slippage and improve comfort. In fact, such a band or web would lack sufficient stiffness to function in the arrangement of Palmieri.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive nose support for eyeglasses which overcomes the disadvantages of prior art eyeglass nose supports.